


Screw-Up

by ourladyofmumbles



Category: The Expanse (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-19 00:22:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11301885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ourladyofmumbles/pseuds/ourladyofmumbles
Summary: Romantic gestures can be lost in translation.





	Screw-Up

Holden walked down the corridors of the Roci, smoothing his collar and slicking back his hair for the hundredth time, following the sounds of banging through the passageways. He was nervous. It was stupid to be nervous, he was taking Naomi out on a date just as he’d done dozens of times before. He fiddled with his collar again and sighed.

He turned a corner into the engine room and stopped short. Naomi was working on one of the panels, her legs (the only thing visible) were covered in some sort of black-green stain. Tools and wires were strewn about the floor, as were puddles of the green-black goo.

“Amos, do you have that welder? I think I found the pressure leak.” Naomi’s voice was muffled by the panels, but he could still catch the tone she took whenever she was busy.

“Umm… It's not Amos.” He said, transfixed by the mess. Naomi’s lower half stilled for a minute before she slid out, revealing the staining didn’t just end at her waist.

“Shit, what time is it? Amos and I were just trying to get the pressure back to normal when… well, don’t you look sharp.” Naomi smiled as she looked at him, and Holden felt a heat crawl up on his neck. He hoped his face wasn’t turning red as he straightened his collar again.

“I’m guessing you forgot about dinner?”

“No, of course not, Amos can finish things up here. I’ll be ready in a click, promise!” She pressed a quick kiss to his cheek as she bolted into the hallway, nearly bowling into Amos. The big man gave a half smile to Holden as he walked into the room.

“Looking good Cap… but uhh…” he rubbed his cheek, and Holden brought his hand to where Naomi just kissed him. His fingers came away covered in green-black grease. The sigh that escaped his lips was nothing short of exasperated. Amos chuckled.

“Oh, shut up,” Holden mumbled, running off to find the nearest reflective surface.

When Naomi finally emerged from their quarters, gunk free, she looked stunning. Holden smiled as she twirled in front of him, the gossamer layers of her shirt ruffling with the motion. He chuckled and took her hand, “You look fantastic.” He said as they walked through the corridors of the Roci into the docks of Tycho. She chuckled and wrapped her arm around his.

“You inspired me. So now that we’re all dolled up where are we going?”

“Aurora Sky. Fred recommended it.”

“Sounds… fancy.” There was a hint of something at the edge of her voice, he hoped it was excitement. He smiled, and they fell into the easy silence he loved so much about their time together.

The restaurant was beautiful. High ceilings, white tablecloths, furnishings stained to look almost like wood. How had he never been here before? He was looking at the menu eagerly, excited to see how belter chefs tackled Earth staples.

“Hey Naomi, what’re you – ” He looked up and saw her nose firmly tucked in the menu, but her eyes were darting around, glancing at the tables, the people, anywhere but him. She was chewing her bottom lip. Holden sighed and tried to look at the room the way Naomi might: white tablecloths never meant to be dirty, wood from a planet she had never seen, people wearing dresses and clothes impractical to a life of zero g. Compared to the bars and food carts they usually frequented, this place was too grand, too pristine. There was no music or laughter to fill the great room, just polite conversation and the gentle clink of silverware. He sighed again, realization forming a knot in his chest: he’d fucked it up. This was supposed to be special. Naomi fidgeted in her seat, pulling at her leggings and concentrated on the menu. Holden pulled out his terminal and transferred a sizeable tip to the waiter.

“C’mon.” He said, pushing out his chair and walking to her side of the table, offering his hand. She looked up at him, surprised.

“But we –”

“The selection here blows. Besides, we’re clearly overdressed.” He gave her a smile and, to his relief, she smiled back.

“Yeah, yeah alright.”

Twenty minutes later, they were holding bowls of Red Kibble and Rice from Naomi’s favorite cart and laughing about the time Alex “accidentally” dumped an entire bottle of chili flakes into his Martian Meatloaf Surprise and they all spent the next three rotations devouring whatever bland rations they could find to stop the burning. Naomi launched into the story about how all the engineers on the Cant got food poisoning at the same time and Holden laughed as the kibble burned the roof of his mouth, savoring every minute of the story he’d heard a thousand times. Before long Naomi was pulling him towards the Blue Moon and he had a beer in one hand and a karaoke mic in the other. His world turned into a cacophony of lights and sound and drinks and at the center of it all was Naomi’s intoxicating smile.  They danced and drank, the night flying by until eventually, they were stumbling back towards the Roci hand in hand.

“I had a ton of fun,” Naomi said, bumping into him again. He laughed, her accent was always thicker when she was drunk.

“Yeah, yeah me too.” He unhooked his arm from her waist just long enough to unlock the Roci’s cargo door before pulling her close again as they stumbled towards their bunk. She pinned him against the wall right outside their door and pressed her forehead against his. Holden could smell the sweetness of those terrifying blue cocktails she’d been drinking on her breath. “I’m sorry about the restaurant.” He whispered, feeling the alcohol muddling his words. Her smile wavered a bit and she rubbed her nose against his.

“It’s alright, it's just – we always have fun. Like this. At least I do, do you not –”

“No! no, I love this.” He traced the line of her jaw with his fingers. “I do I really do.” She smiled and pressed a kiss into his fingers.

“Then why –”

“I was trying to make tonight special. It was stupid. It's always special – you make it special, I…”

“But why?” She searched his eyes, and he sighed.

“It's our anniversary Naomi.” He said, and her smile faded. She took a step back, letting him off the wall. “I know belters don’t really celebrate it, and we’re always in the middle of some life-or-death situation whenever it rolls around, but when it looked like nothing was going to happen this time I figured I’d try and make it special. But I messed it up.” The words were tumbling out, and a small smile returned to her face.

“No, no I get it, I do. And it was special. I loved it.” She pressed a kiss to his lips, and he smiled back. “Now let's get into the room before I pass out in the hallway.” She winked and he laughed, leaning back against the wall. He felt the vibrations as the door opened, heard Naomi’s unsteady footsteps enter their quarters. He smiled, feeling a weight lift from his chest. This was all he needed.

“Jim…” Naomi’s voice was soft, sweet, and... confused? Why would she be confused? Then it hit him.

“Oh… oh _shit”_ he ran into their room and froze. Every surface was covered in rose petals, red and pink. Their scent lingered in the air, and in the middle was Naomi picking up a single white rose from their shared bunk. “I’m sorry I forgot…” He started to explain, but she was smiling again. She touched the rose’s petals as if they were made of glass.

“How did you…?” she motioned to the petals around the room. He shrugged.

“Prax told me about an old roommate of his that grows stuff you normally can’t find out here… I think I was the first person who didn’t ask him for weed.” She chuckled, and he walked towards her. “I asked Alex and Amos to do this while we were at dinner… I’m sorry I forgot…”

“Sorry? Jim this is...” Her words dropped off as she walked towards him, wrapping her arms carefully around his neck and pressing a long, lingering kiss to his lips. His hands glided up her back, tangling in her hair. When she pulled away he was dizzy.

“So I guess you liked it?”

“Shut up.”

She crashed into him again, pulling him towards the bed. He chased the sickly sweet alcohol on her lips as they tumbled into the crash gel. Her hands pulled at the buttons on his shirt as he traced a line of kisses down her jaw and neck. He felt her breathing hitch as he bit down on her collarbone. He felt his shirt slide up, and her fingernails drag down his back as she pushed him upright to finish undressing him. He paused to catch his breath, watching her chest fall up and down as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

“I love you so much.” He whispered, and she smiled, moving to press a kiss into his collarbone.

“I love you too.” She murmured into his neck before pushing him down into the gel beneath her. The rose petals on the gel fluttered up around her as she straddled him. He laughed as she pulled off her shirt and tossed it away, tracing lazy circles on his bare chest as the petals settled in her hair and on her shoulders. His heart skipped a beat as she bent down to kiss him again.

Maybe he hadn’t screwed up so bad after all.


End file.
